1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to baseball or sporting type hats and in particular to adjustable baseball style hats that more resemble traditional fitted hats where the adjustment parts are generally symmetric in each side of the hat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Baseball or sports style hats are available in several styles. In the traditional style, the crown of the hat is made in a range of sizes and a user selects a hat to fit his head. The disadvantage of this style is that a vendor has to stock hats in many different sizes to accommodate different head sizes. The advantage of this traditional style is that the entire crown of the hat is made of material and no provisions are necessary to adjust the hat.
In recent years the xe2x80x9cone-hat-fits-allxe2x80x9d baseball hat has become very popular. An adjustment mechanism, such as a pair of plastic straps or Velcro(copyright) straps, one a hook strap and the other a loop strap, are affixed at the back of the cap. The hat size is adjusted by altering the circumference of the crown by changing the position of the adjustment mechanism.
This style has several disadvantages. First, it requires a cut out or slit portion in the back of the crown where the straps of the adjustment mechanism are attached. This makes the hat unsightly in appearance. Second, it is popular to wear baseball style hats backwards, i.e., with the bill or visor at the back of the wearer""s head instead of the front. In such case, the part of the head located at the split portion remains exposed to the weather conditions. With the traditional style hat this backwards wearing is both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable since the hat""s material rests against the forehead of the wearer. But with the xe2x80x9cone-hat-fits-allxe2x80x9d style hat, the adjustment straps are on the forehead of the wearer. This is both unsightly and uncomfortable.
It is an object of the invention to provide a baseball style hat with or without visor which is neat in appearance and can be worn backwards without having a crown cut-out and adjustment mechanism on the wearer""s forehead or back head.
Another object of the invention is to provide a baseball style hat with or without visor which is adjustable, but which does not have an adjustment mechanism in the back of the crown, at a cut-out of the crown.
A further object of the invention is to provide a baseball style hat with or without visor which has two or more adjustment clasps which may be symmetrically located in both sides of the hat when the hat is worn by a user.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a baseball style hat with or without visor which has two or more adjustment clasps which are hidden from view when the hat is worn by a user.
In accordance with the invention, an adjustable hat is provided which has a crown, preferably made of a plurality of triangular sections forming an apex at its top and having an adjustable portion along its lower part. A visor may be attached to the front or rear portion of the crown. At least two, but eventually four, of two-part adjustment clasps are affixed near each temple of the crown to alter the size of the lower portion of the crown.
In the preferred embodiment, the adjustment clasps are hidden or almost hidden when adjusted for the wearer. This is accomplished by embedding one part of the adjustment clasp in or from a detachable flap, which can be created by leaving all, or a part of, adjacent triangular sections unsewn in both sides of the hat. The other part of the clasp is attached to the adjacent crown section, near the visor zone or forehead area. It can also be attached to the opposite side of the hat.
The two part adjustment clasp can be a pair of straight or curved plastic straps, one having male connector portions and the other female connector portions, of the type well known in baseball style hats. However, the male-female connectors can be closer than commonly used in these kind of hats. Alternately, the adjustment clasp can be a pair of Velcro(copyright) straps, a textile strap with a buckle or similar fastener or even an elastic strap, also well known in the art.